On a cold January night in Dublin, my home town, I gave a talk based on the material in my new book, 'Why Do We Get Sick? Why Do We Get Better? - A Wellness detective Manual.'
   It was billed as the de-briefing we should be given before we leave the hospital or Doctor’s office. The, ‘How to figure out what you’re illness meant and spot the warning signs earlier.’ briefing.

   As you can see the surroundings were quite majestic and gave the proceedings an air of reverence which I dispelled as quickly as possible. I'm not sure what the audience were expecting but I don't think it was humour, especially not in a talk about why we get sick.

   'Hey John,
    Thanks for the talk the other night.
  I haven't laughed so much in ages. It gave me quite
  a bit to think about too. When are you coming back?'
   J. B. Dublin

   I've had hundreds of conversations with patients and students about why we get sick and why we get better. These conversations formed the basis of my book.          
   I knew the perspectives and concepts I cover in the book were very helpful - I'd seen them working time and again in my practice.

   I wanted to deliver the material to a fresh audience - not patients or students. People who would be hearing about these different ways of thinking about our health and happiness for the first time. I wanted to see if it made sense to them.
   The results were better than I expected.

   There was quite a bit of audience participation as I got people up on stage to help me demonstrate different concepts.
   At one point we had a sort of three man balancing act going on as I explained how the different parts of us affect each other. At another point in the night I had people act out ways our unconscious voices can relate to us.

   We also looked at the distinctions between health and sickness and if they are real and necessary.

   When we got to the subject of trauma I used examples from my practice to illustrate how trauma can get locked in our bodies and how the effects of trauma can last for years.

   I talked about how our experience of birth and how we bond with our parents can set up all sorts of emotional resonances throughout the rest of our lives.

   I went on to share my experiences of working with people with life threatening illnesses, including cancer, and how the experience had helped me come to grips with the deeper reasons behind why we get sick.

       In the second part of the evening I went through the practical application of the concepts and perspectives laid out earlier. We went through some techniques to help uncover illness-generating thought patterns. We also discussed ways of getting in touch with the deeper parts of ourselves.

   It was a great night and from the comments I received later it gave the people there very useful perspectives on their individual situations.

Find out all about my book here.